


falling in love with a hot masterswordsman

by Jaggy_Simp



Category: One Piece
Genre: Gay, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Major Character Injury, Sanji Needs a Hug, Slow Burn, Slurs, zoro is a thot tm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:28:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22031818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaggy_Simp/pseuds/Jaggy_Simp
Summary: Sanji slowly realizes that he's falling for a certain swordsman.
Relationships: Roronoa Zoro/Vinsmoke Sanji, Vinsmoke Sanji/Original Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter One

It all started when Sanji realized the admiration he held for Zoro. It was just so amazing how much effort he had put into being the world’s greatest swordsman. Sanji would often think about how great it was to have that kind of determination. Zoro was only seventeen and he was one of the strongest people in their crew. No matter how many times he would get cut down, he’d always get back up. Sanji found himself particularly amazed when Zoro went up against Hawkeye. It was so incredible to see him go his hardest. Even though he bled profusely, he still gave his all. 

Sanji thought a lot about Zoro. He would stare into space and the first thing to enter his mind was the swordsman. He admired Zoro’s physique. In fact, he was almost a little bit jealous. Whether or not he wanted to, thoughts of the moss headed boy entered his mind. It didn’t help that Zoro constantly trained and worked out. Sometimes, Sanji would catch himself as he watched Zoro train. In fact it happened a lot more often than he ever thought it would. Every time it would happen, he’d shake his head and continued to cook. 

Sanji stirred the split pea soup. The color reminded him of something. His eyes widened. Was the soup the exact shade of the swordsman’s hair? He turned to Luffy. 

“Hey, come over here and look at this soup. Does the color remind you of anything?” Luffy walked over and stared at the soup.

“Hmm. Yeah it does. It looks a lot like dirt.” Sanji’s eyes widened as he realized he was going insane. He stared at the soup with a somber look on his face. Instead of trying to figure out the cause, Snaji decided to blame it on the sea. “Hey wait a minute, are you making mud stew?” Luffy’s eyes widened in lust for the soup. Drool poured out of his mouth. “Oy, your foods over there.” Sanji whacked Luffy over the head and pointed at a pile of white rice with a slice of salami that sat on top. Luffy dived towards the white rice, and shoved it into his mouth. Sanji threw a spoon at him. “Hey wait until everyone else is here.” “Nami! Your food is ready!” After he called Nami, he thought about calling that stupid moss head, but he dismissed it. He shook his head. He didn’t care about that stupid swordsman, or his stupid abs, or his stupid face. If Zoro wanted to eat he could come in and get it himself. He was a big boy and he could take care of himself. Sanji had set out two plates of white rice and salami for Usopp and Luffy, Then the soup was for him, Nami and Zoro. He thought nothing of it. 

As the days progressed, Sanji found himself making more intricate meals for just Zoro. He kept making separate meals for Nami too, but he went even more out of the way to make something for Zoro. Sanji finally realized something was off. He glanced down at the food he was making for Zoro. “Wait a minute. This isn’t the rotting food. Goddamnit.” He wondered if Zoro had even noticed he didn’t have rotting food. Part of Sanji didn’t care, but the other part hoped that he realized his food was of a higher quality. “Wait a minute. This is crazy. What am I doing?” He shook his head in shame at himself. He didn’t want to waste the meal he had already prepared so he decided that after this one, Zoro would return to the rotting food diet. 

Sanji never thought it would happen, but for some reason, he almost never thought of Nami. In fact, he accidentally almost gave her rotting food. When he did that, she hit him on the head and called him an idiot. Sanji was getting scared. He loved Nami, he only loved Nami. How could he love anyone except Zoro. His mind did a backflip and his heart nearly stopped. “Wait what now?” He mumbled to himself. There was no way he could love Zoro. 

Then Sanji was hit with an epiphany. He realized why he had done all those things for Zoro. It seemed as if he had developed some kind of crush on the swordsman. Which couldn’t be possible, because he loved Nami. His eyes were wide with horror and he shook his head in disbelief. There was no way he’d accept this. He pounded his fist into his palm with determination. He would just have to love Nami even more. He’d smother her with his love if that’s what it took. He gritted his teeth. He didn’t understand how this happened. He was so angry at himself. Why did Zoro have to be on the ship. His simple existence was enough to send Sanji reeling. It was infuriating. Hot tears of anger leaked down his cheeks. He brought his hand up to wipe them away. The door to the kitchen creaked open, and Sanji steeled himself. Thankfully it was just Nami. He breathed a sigh of relief. When his heart didn’t leap like it usually did around Nami, he tried to ignore it and blamed it on his crying earlier. He clasped his hands together around his face. “Nami-san!” She smiled at him. Sanji gave her one of his award-winning smiles. He picked the plate up off the table. “Nami! Did you want to try this new dish I made just for you? It’s a version of petit fours but its with tangerine!” He shoved the plate in her face. She sighed. 

“Thanks Sanji. I’ll eat these later.” She gave him a soft smile and headed down to her quarters. An hour later, Sanji poked his head down. “Nami-san! I made some tea if you want some!” The sudden interruption made Nami jump and almost spill her ink. She threw a wadded up paper ball at him. “Get out Sanji!” He ducked and left with a dejected look on his face. 

Nami wasn’t quite sure what happened to Sanji, but she hated it. He constantly pestered her. Every minute it was Nami-san this and Nami-san that. She was getting sick of it. There was no way she’d ever be able to get anything done. He was being more endearing than usual. Speak of the devil, Sanji turned the corner with a tray of some kind of dessert and some kind of hot beverage. Nami wished she could turn invisible. Maybe she had enough time to hide under the bed. She considered it but brushed the thought aside. “Nami-san! I brought you some tangerine-filled croissants and tea!” Nami groaned. “Sanji! Leave me alone! You’re being too much. Go bother Zoro or Luffy or literally anyone else. Just not me.” Sanji almost dropped the tray he held when she mentioned Zoro. He stiffened up. “Why would I bother Zoro, he’s a stupid moss head.” Nami groaned. “It doesn’t have to be Zoro, just not me.” Sanji frowned. 

Even though Nami, told him to leave, Sanji told himself he couldn’t. She was the love of his life. She was an amazing navigator and she was brilliantly talented at map-making. However she wasn’t the best at combat, unlike Zoro. He was probably the best fighter on the ship. Except for maybe Luffy. Although Zoro was the worst navigator. Hell he could probably get lost going into the ship's kitchen. Sanji chuckled. Zoro was so cute when he got lost. Confusion would cross his face as he looked in every direction and wondered which way he came from. Sanji always thought the way that he would rub the back of his head, and his earrings would jangle was the cutest thing ever. Sanji stiffened, how did this keep happening to him? One minute he was thinking about Nami, then the next he was thinking about how cute Zoro was. Sanji gritted his teeth. Shit not again. He shook his head. This whole situation was infuriating. He continued his cooking. While he was working on the dish, Luffy walked in. He stared over his shoulder and watched him cook. “Oohh, Sanji, are you making customized sushi plates for each of the crew members?” He pointed at the sushi he was making. “Cause that one looks a lot like Zoro!” A look of horror crossed Sanji’s face. He promptly dropped the sushi figure into the trash. Luffy grabbed it out of the trash and shoved it in his mouth. He spoke with his mouth full of food. “Oy Sanji, I thought you never threw food away. What are you throwing this away for? It’s super good.” Sanji hit Luffy on the head with a spoon. “That was meant to be thrown away you idiot. Get out of here! I’m busy cooking.” Luffy scuttled away from the trash can with the sushi Zoro in his hands. Sanji rolled his eyes. 

Nami peeked her head through the window into the kitchen. She smiled when she saw Sanji standing by the stove. She ran over to Zoro. “Give me one of your swords.” She made a move to grab one. “What no. Get your grubby hands away from my babies.” A look of disgust flashed across his face. She made grabby hands at one of them. “Just give it to me, I promise it’s for a good reason, but I need it now, quick.” She tried to grab one of them off of his belt. Zoro moved away and rolled his eyes. “Fine, but don’t fuck it up.” He passed one of his swords over to her. She ran back to the door and put his sword through the handle. Now Sanji was trapped inside the kitchen. Luckily he was too engrossed in making sure his dish was at peak perfection to even notice that he had now been locked inside the kitchen. Nami cupped her hands around her mouth. “Usopp! Luffy! This is really important! Get down here!” Luffy swung himself down to the main deck. Usopp turned around from the railing and walked over to where everyone else was standing. Nami cleared her throat. “Is everyone here?” She looked around at the three people in front of her. 

“Where’s Sanji?” Usopp looked around the deck. Nami waved her hand and dismissed the comment. “Oh, I locked him in the kitchen. He doesn’t need to be apart of this.” She flashed a smile at the group. “Anyways, back to the matter at hand.” The smile disappeared off her face and was replaced with a more solemn look. “The reason that I locked Sanji in the kitchen is because this meeting is about Sanji.” She paused and glanced at the groups faces. “Have any of you noticed that Sanji has been acting weird lately?” The three pondered the question. Luffy’s eyes widened. “He threw away a Zoro shaped sushi figure yesterday, and then he yelled at me for eating it out of the trash.” Luffy said nonchalantly. Nami gasped. “Sanji never throws away food.” She crossed her arms. “Okay, something is definitely wrong with Sanji.” She put her fist in her hand. “We have to get to the bottom of this. I don’t think I can stand trying another tangerine flavored dessert.” She looked around at Zoro, Luffy and Usopp. “Got it?” Luffy nodded. “Yeah, find out why Sanji didn’t make sushi figures for the rest of us.” Nami sighed and put a hand to her face. “No you idiot, find out why Sanji has been acting weird. Although, I suppose you could also find out why he didn’t make sushi figures for the rest of us as well.” She pondered for a few seconds before she clapped her hands together. “Okay new plan. Find out why Sanji’s acting weird, and why he didn’t make the rest of us sushi figures. Does everybody understand?” She glanced at the three of them. She rolled her eyes when she saw Usopp and Luffy goofing around. She hit them over the head and sighed. “I’m surrounded by idiots.” She muttered under her breath. “Does everyone understand?” They all nodded. “Good. Now we can start investigating.” Luffy pointed at the kitchen. “Should we let Sanji out of the kitchen now?” They all turned to see Sanji pound on the door, in an attempt to get out. Nami shrugged. “If you want to. He’s being off the walls annoying so I'm content with leaving him there.

Luffy walked over to the kitchen. Sanji smiled in relief. He thought that Luffy was going to let him out. Instead, Luffy smiled, waved and walked away. Sanji growled in frustration. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be in the kitchen all day, everyday, but the heat inside there was stifling. He just wanted to get outside. He sat down with his back to the door. He groaned, he was so bored. Sanji was ready to accept his fate as being trapped in the kitchen for the rest of his life. All of a sudden there were noises on the other side of the door. “Go away Luffy. I don’t want you to torture me again.” He yelled. Suddenly he fell onto his back. He was startled at first but he relaxed a bit when he gazed into Zoro’s onyx eyes. Sanji didn’t want to admit it, but Zoro looked really good at that angle. A light blush dusted his cheeks. He sat up and turned to face him. “Thanks for letting me out.” Zoro put his sword in his belt and nodded. 

“I was just getting my sword back. Nami insisted that she use it to lock you in.” Sanji gritted his teeth. “Of course she did. That certainly seems like something she would do.” Zoro shrugged and walked away. “Glad I could be of service, you dumb love cook.” Sanji felt his blush deepen. He was only a little mad at himself this time. At least he wasn’t just blatantly admiring him. This time Sanji had a reason. After all, Zoro did let him out of his makeshift prison. 

Sanji stood up, walked over to the ship's railing, and lit one of his cigarettes. He never would have thought that he’d be having feelings for the swordsman. He wasn’t sure if he could accept it now, if not ever. He had had these kinds of feelings before and it hadn’t ended well. Ever since then, he had vowed to never let himself feel that again. Sanji tried to keep the memories locked away. He tried to keep them from overflowing into his mind. He thought the dam he created would hold. He thought he was strong enough to keep them locked away. Sanji felt the dam break. He stared out at the sea as his mind flooded with memories he wanted so badly to forget.

Sanji was working at one of the cooking stations, when Zeff walked over and interrupted his cooking. 

“Sanji, meet the newest addition to the crew.” He pointed to the boy standing next to him. “Sanji, this is Ren. Ren meet Sanji. Sanji is our sous chef here.” Sanji waved and smiled at Ren. 

“You’re a sous chef already? Aren’t you only like what, twelve?” Sanji’s confidence wavered. He fiddled with his hands. 

“Yeah well, I’m really good at it. Can you even cook? I bet the only thing you can make is mud stew.” He said in a voice laced with anger. Who was this kid to question his cooking skills. He clenched his fists and his face took on a slight red tint. “Sanji calm down. There’s no need to get angry.” Sanji crossed his arms in defiance. He was angry that this kid came in and started talking crap about him. Sanji stuck his tongue out at Ren. Zeff placed a hand on Ren’s shoulder. “Alright, how bout I show you the rest of the ship? See you later Sanji.” Zeff led Ren away. As they were leaving, Ren shot a wink in Sanji’s direction. It caught Sanji off guard. A light blush dusted his cheeks. He turned back to the dish he was working on with his mind filled to the brim with thoughts of Ren.

“Sanji!” Someone in the distance called his name. “Hey Sanji!” He tried to block out Ren’s voice. He hated the way his name rolled off his tongue. He clasped his hand on Sanji’s shoulder. The sudden contact scared Sanji and he reacted without thinking. He brought his leg up and kicked backwards. 

“I thought I told you to leave me alone!” He stood over not Ren, but Zoro? A look of horror crossed his face. 

“What the hell?” Zoro brought a hand up to his face. It came away bloody. Sanji’s voice and anger faltered. “I-I-I’m so sorry Zoro. I-I don’t know what came over me.” Sanji tried to help him up. Zoro looked taken aback and shrugged his hand away. “I can get up by myself love cook. Don’t get lost in your thoughts next time.” “Maybe don’t startle people you,” Sanji’s struggled to get the words out, “You swamp monster.” He curled his hands into fists.It wasn’t that he was mad at Zoro, no he was mad at himself. Zoro scoffed and walked away. He only looked slightly irritated at the whole situation. A numb feeling filled Sanji to the brim. He couldn’t believe that he had just done that. He looked up and saw Nami and Luffy staring at him from afar. They had worry on their faces. Embarrassment and shame made his cheeks burn. Sanji did his best to keep his cool as he lit a cigarette and headed into the kitchen. 

He was so ashamed of himself. Zoro was his crewmember. How could he have done something like that. It made something deep inside Sanji burn. Tears of embarrassment dripped down his cheeks. There was no way Zoro would ever want to talk to him again. Sanji had officially screwed himself over. He would never be able to live this down. Frustration coursed through his veins. It was all because of Ren. Everything eventually led back to him. 

There was a knock on the kitchen door. Sanji stiffened up. Nami’s head appeared in the room. 

“Hey, um what was that?” Sanji made an attempt to be nonchalant. “What was what?” He shrugged his shoulders and smiled at her. A smile did not appear on her face. “Cut the bullshit Sanji. You just round housed one of the other crew members. So tell me. What’s going on?” She crossed her arms. Sanji knew there was no point in lying. He took a deep breath. “Okay i’ve just been having some really bad memories pop up and I got carried away in one of them. I thought that Zoro was a horrible person from my past.” A shameful tone took over his voice. He crossed his arms timidly. Nami put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a sympathetic smile. “We all have stuff we’re running from, but next time don’t be such an idiot and kick people.” She smiled before she patted his shoulder and left.


	2. Chapter Two

The next few hours were difficult for Sanji. It was almost impossible for him to concentrate on cooking when he watched Zoro train. 

“I just don’t understand why he has to train shirtless. Like who is he trying to impress? It’s honestly a little rude that he doesn’t consider what other people think. I don’t want to be distracted while cooking.” Sanji muttered to himself while he stirred the pot of soup. 

That night, Zoro appeared in Sanji’s dream. He wore a smug smirk, but he wasn’t wearing a shirt. A long string of drool fell out of Sanji’s mouth. Zoro beckoned to Sanji and Sanji felt his limbs move by themselves. He walked over in a trance to Zoro’s open arms. Zoro’s arms wrapped around Sanji like a snake. With Sanji in his embrace, Zoro removed one of his hands from Sanji’s waist and tilted his chin towards his own. Zoro leaned down and pressed his lips against Sanji’s. Green and yellow fireworks exploded around the two of them as their mouths met. 

Panic flowed through Sanji’s system and he woke up in a cold sweat. “Was that a dream or a nightmare?” He whispered under his breath. Sanji looked down to see that his hammock had swung violently at his sudden awakeness. He steadied himself before he got out. He wrapped his arms around his torso and walked out to the deck. He lit a cigarette and took a long inhale. “Goddamnit, why do I feel like this?” He groaned out loud. He felt so frustrated. Sanji paced back and forth across the deck. He wanted to yell out in frustration, but he didn’t want to wake anyone up. He gazed out at the sea longingly. He wished he could jump into the sea and forget everything that had happened. Sanji shivered, he wasn’t sure whether or not he wanted to keep this to himself, or if he wanted to talk to someone. 

“Alright, alright. Let’s walk through our options. Luffy and Usopp are out of the question. So is Zoro. That leaves… Nami.” He sighed. There wasn’t anybody he could talk to. Sanji let a blank expression take over his face. “Well, guess I better start making breakfast. God knows Luffy is gonna be hungry.” He dragged his hand over his face and headed towards the kitchen. He hesitated at the door to the kitchen. The logical and rational side of him told him to go back to bed. However, the irrational side of him told him to just not bother with the logical side and do whatever he wanted. Sanji decided to listen to the irrational side. “Fuck rationality am I right?” He said to the kitchen door. The door did not respond. 

Sanji stifled another yawn as he chopped up vegetables. The past couple nights, he had suffered from that recurring dream of Zoro. A shiver ran down his spine as the dream ran through his mind again. Everytime he would always wake up right after that first kiss. At this point, he was almost scared to go to sleep. Sanji let a yawn out and in the middle of it Luffy walked into the kitchen. 

“Oi Sanji! I smelled meat.” Sanji shook his head at Luffy’s antics. “Of course you did. Well, I'm still in the middle of making it, but once it’s done you can have some. So just sit down and wait.” Luffy frowned and sat down at the table. 

After another fifteen minutes Sanji walked over and placed a plate down in front of Luffy. As he set it down he stifled another yawn. In between the bites Luffy took, he glanced over at Sanji. Sanji paid him no attention and stirred the pan. As he stared at the ingredients, they shaped the crude form of Zoro. Sanji’s eyes widened in horror. The figure winked and blew a kiss at him. Sanji took a step back and dropped the spoon he held. It clattered to the floor. Luffy stood up and walked over to the stove. He shook his fist at it. “Oi, what’re you scaring my cook for. Dumb pan.” Sanji let out a hesitant laugh. “Thanks Luffy.” He picked the spoon up off the floor. Luffy returned to the table. “Anyways, did you like not sleep or something?” Sanji froze for a second, but he was quick to recover. “Something like that. I think it’s something to do with those hammocks, I always feel like I’m going to fall out.” At least that part was true. Luffy took another bite that seemed to big. “Maybe you should sleep on the floor then.” Sanji chuckled. “Maybe.” 

Sanji ran towards the execution platform. He fought his way through the multitudes of marines and pirates. Next to him Zoro did the same. They were both determined to reach Luffy before Buggy decapitated him. It was hard to focus on the marines and pirates when a crewmembers life was on the line. Sanji spared a glance at Zoro. Sanji was always caught off guard by Zoro’s fierce determination for whatever battle they were in. Sanji was glad he was on their side. They would be kind of fucked if he were their enemy. He was so incredibly strong. Suddenly Sanji was on the ground. His cheek stung and he pressed a hand to his cheek. His fingers came away stained red. He looked up and saw a group of pirates surrounding him. The looks on their faces were filled with malice. He tried to crawl backwards but a sword stopped him from moving any further. Sanji wasn’t usually one to be scared but right here and right now, he was a little scared. Could this be it? Was this where he would die? Before he could do anything else, there was a flash of swords and all the pirates dropped to the ground. Sanji looked up and saw Zoro in the place of the pirates. Relief washed over him. Zoro held out his hand and waited for Sanji to take it so he could help him up. Sanji just stared at him. Impatient, Zoro grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet. In shock, Sanji continued to stare at him. Zoro tsked at him. 

“This is no place to be distracted Sanji.” A light blush dusted his cheeks. He nodded curtly to try and keep his composure. Zoro nodded back and the two of them rushed back into the fray. 

When they got back to the ship, Sanji couldn’t stop thinking about Zoro’s hand on his arm. Or the way he stared at him. He didn’t have to help him up, but he did. Sanji’s cheeks flushed at the memory. Zoro stood so close to him on the deck.

Sanji yawned, he still got two to three hours of sleep each night. Now with the added exhaustion from the fight at Loguetown, Sanji neared a state of total exhaustion. His vision swam as he tried to make his way to the kitchen. Black spots spawned in the corners of his vision at first. As he got closer to the kitchen, the black took over more of his sight. His hand was on the door handle, he was almost safe, then the world spun him around. As he fell into unconsciousness, the last thing he saw was Zoro’s worried face. 

Sanji stood on the deck and looked out at the waves. The sky was a beautiful medley of purple, yellow, orange, and pink. He took a long inhale from his cigarette. The smoke he exhaled curled upwards. A voice spoke from behind him. 

“You know those things’ll kill you?” Sanji turned around with a smile on his face. 

“Yeah well, I tell you the same thing about your sword fighting.” Zoro stood there with his arms crossed and a smug smirk on his face. He chuckled and opened his arms up. “Come here you.” Sanji smiled, put out his cigarette and entered Zoro’s embrace. Zoro leaned down and their lips met in a tender embrace. They parted after a couple of seconds. Sanji turned around and faced the ocean. Zoro’s arms were wrapped around Sanji’s waist. Sanji leaned into Zoro and rested his head on his chest. “Isn’t the ocean beautiful tonight?” Sanji murmured. Zoro placed a kiss on the top of his head. “Not as beautiful as you.” Sanji chuckled. “I love you Zoro.” He craned his neck to look up at him. “I love you too Sanji.” Zoro placed a kiss to his lips this time. Sanji smiled and settled in further to his boyfriends chest to watch the sun sink down further below the horizon. 

Sanji awoke in a panic. His breathing was sporadic and heavy. His vision blurred. He pressed a hand to his cheek and his fingers came away wet. He thought that his cut had opened up, but his cut was still intact. He blinked and tears fell from his face. Sanji wiped the tears off his face. He was surprised that he wasn’t in one of the hammocks. He glanced around the room. He realized that he was in Nami’s quarters. What surprised him the most was the fact that Zoro was asleep in a chair next to the bed. His arms were crossed beneath his head. One hand was outstretched as if he was holding onto something. Sanji stared at him in horror. He gripped the sheets tightly in his hands. There was no way he could get out of the bed without Zoro noticing. Frustration flooded his system. Why did Zoro have to be here of all people? He leaned back against the pillow. Sanji felt lost and confused. Well actually, he wasn’t sure what he was feeling. All he knew was that he didn’t want Zoro to be there. Or did some subconscious part of him wanted to not be alone? Regardless of whether or not he subconsciously wanted Zoro to be there, he was stuck there. He looked over at Zoro as he was fast asleep. He did have to admit that the swordsman did look awfully cute. “No!” He whispered under his breath. He shook his head. “That’s not okay.” He gripped the sheets tighter. He needed to get out of here. At this point he didn’t even care about waking Zoro up. Sanji threw the blankets off of him. Zoro stirred at the sudden movement. He lifted his head up off his arms and blinked sleepily at Sanji. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and straightened up. 

"Glad to see your up.” Zoro said in between yawns. Sanji stiffened up. He was glad that Zoro felt the need to be there, but also, why did he have to be there. It wasn’t like Zoro to care about anyone much less anything other than himself, or his swords. Sanji threw his legs over the side of the bed. “Well seeing as how I’m all better, I’ll be getting back to the kitchen.” Zoro put a hand on his shoulder. “Um, I don’t think so. Lay your ass back down and go back to sleep.” Sanji tried to shake off his hand, but to his avail he couldn’t. “I’m fine.” Zoro rolled his eyes. “Just lay back down. I’m not gonna let you just do whatever you want. So just get back in the bed.” Sanji tried to push against Zoro’s hand, but the swordsman was so much stronger than he was. “Get your hands off me. I don’t want you touching me anymore.” Sanji snapped at him. A look of hurt flashed in his eyes. Zoro took his hands off of him and backed away. “Fine, just don’t take it easy.” Zoro huffed and left the room. Sanji was glad that Zoro finally left. He gripped the edge of the bed. Everything was so weird now. He was sure if he could take it anymore. His feelings for Zoro ripped into him like knives. As he sat on the bed, a wave of exhaustion passed over him. He laid back down and let sleep drag him into its clutches. 

A few weeks after Ren had joined the crew, and Sanji had started to see him in a different light. Sanji stood over the pan and watched the sauce come to a simmer. He was so engrossed in the sauce that he didn’t even hear Ren call his name. 

“Hey Sanji!” Ren called out to him. “Sanji.” His voice took on a sing-songy tone. Ren rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Typical of him to ignore me like this.” He walked over to Sanji and tapped him on the shoulder. Sanji dropped his spoon as he was startled out of his thoughts. At first he was a little irritated that someone interrupted him. Then he turned around to see Ren and his irritation melted away. A small smile appeared on his face.  
“Hey Ren!” He picked up the spoon. “How’s it going?” Ren let his hand rest on Sanji’s shoulder and it filled Sanji with warmth. “It was going okay, but better now that I’m talkin to you it’s even better.” Sanji blushed. It felt so nice to receive such kind words from him. “Ren you’re so kind.” Ren squeezed his shoulder. “I know. Now I have a question for you.” Sanji turned to meet Ren’s eyes. “Will you teach me how to make an amazing souffle?” Sanji’s smile brightened. He was surprised Ren was asking him and not Zeff. His eyes widened. “Are you sure you want me to teach you?” Ren nodded. “You’re one of, if not, the best cooks on this ship Sanji. Of course I want you to teach me.” The light pink on his cheeks deepened to a darker red. “You’re too kind, Ren.” Sanji turned away, but Ren turned him back around. “Hey, you deserve to hear every word that I’m saying. You’re an amazing cook and no one should tell you otherwise. I didn’t think I’d be telling you this this soon, but I really like you Sanji. Everytime I see you, I swear my heart skips a beat. I find it so incredibly hard to believe that you’re actually real.” Ren glanced off to the side and bit his lip. His cheeks were more red than Sanji’s at this point. Sanji stared at Ren with a bewildered expression. He couldn’t believe the words that spilled from Ren’s mouth. He shook his head and tried to loosen Ren’s grip on his shoulders. “That’s crazy. How could someone as amazing as you like someone as lame as me?” He hung his head. Ren placed a tender hand on his cheek. “Hey look at me.” Sanji opened his eyes. Tears welled at the surface. They threatened to spill over. Sanji bit his lip to prevent the tears from falling. Ren brought his other hand up and wiped the tears away. “Hey, hey. There’s no reason for you to be crying over me. Sanji I’m telling you the truth. Why would I lie to you about something like this?” Sanji sniffed. 

“How do I know,” His eyes shared the same red color that painted Ren’s cheeks a few seconds ago, “It all seems so surreal. I don’t believe you.” He tried to sound like he was angry, but Ren chuckled. “Well then I guess I’ll just have to prove it to you.” Ren grabbed Sanji’s face in a tender embrace. He was a little startled, but he told himself to calm down. Sanji closed his eyes. He wondered if Ren was going to hurt him. What was mere seconds felt like hours. Finally it happened. A pair of lips met his. Sanji melted into Ren. Fireworks and explosions went off inside him. Sanji felt like he was on the ethereal plane. It felt so unreal. When Ren finally pulled away, Sanji was breathless and numb. There was a deep blush on his cheeks. If that conversation felt unreal, that kiss felt damn near impossible. Sanji stared in surprise. Ren chuckled. “Well don’t just stand there. Say something.” That struck Sanji out of his stupor. “Th- that,” he cleared his throat, “That was amazing.” A look of wonderment was on his face. Ren smiled. “Well I’m glad you liked it. If you want, there’s more where that came from.” He winked. If Sanji wasn’t flustered already his blush would have deepened, but it appeared his head reached his max. Ren pulled Sanji into an embrace. He whispered in his ear. “Please be mine mon amour.” Ren placed a tender kiss on Sanji’s cheek. He pulled away and looked into his eyes. “What do you say mon amour?” Sanji blushed and looked down at Ren’s hands on his own. “I’ll be yours Ren.” Ren pulled him in for another kiss and this time Sanji leaned into it. 

Sanji woke up to the sound of screaming. He ran up the stairs to the main deck. When he got up there he was almost thrown off by the force of the winds as they crossed the Red Line. He was a little groggy from just waking up, but he must have still been asleep. There was no way their ship could be going up and over the Red Line. 

“Sanji! Glad to see you finally up!” Nami yelled from not far away. Sanji had no idea how she had managed to stay on the ship.  
“Well your loud yelling woke me up. So I’m blaming you!” He yelled back as he had a death grip on the ships railing. Finally they reached the other side of the Red Line. Luffy yelled in excitement. 

“That was awesome! Let’s do it again!” The ship floated down the other side. Sanji thought that he could relax, but then he saw the shape of a whale emerge. It rose above the water and bellowed as loud as it could. Sanji took his hands off the railing and covered his ears. Without something to hold onto, Sanji fell towards the front of the ship. He thought that he was going to fall off the ship when a hand grabbed the back of his shirt. He looked up and saw Zoro. He had a tight grip on his shirt and his sword. Which he had stabbed into the deck. 

“Hang on tighter next time love cook.” Sanji’s words got caught in his throat. “Yeah well whatever moss head.” Zoro kept his grip on Sanji’s shirt tight. “You can let go of me now.” Zoro looked down at him. “Oh can I? What are you gonna do if you start falling again? Grab onto the air? Yeah not gonna happen love cook.” If anything Zoro’s grip tightened. Sanji crossed his arms in annoyance. It wasn’t like he didn’t appreciate the attention, but he could take care of himself. The whale in front of them continued to bellow. It was so loud, Sanji couldn’t believe that Zoro wasn’t covering his ears. Zoro was such a strong person. Sanji could feel the admiration well up inside him. Nami tried to yell over the whale, but her shout was lost in the wind. 

Next thing Sanji knew the whole ship was being swallowed by the whale. Terror replaced the admiration and a scream tore itself from his throat. Before he could stop himself he threw his arms around Zoro. Sanji honestly thought he would be thrown off, but instead the swordsman placed a comforting hand on his back. That was until the waves in the whale jostled the ship and he was thrown off of Zoro. He reached his arm out to try and grab Zoro’s hand and luckily Zoro was able to catch hold of him and pulled him close. A wave of comfort washed over him. He was almost tempted to stay there forever, but he got the better of himself and he pushed himself out of Zoro’s embrace. Zoro held onto his shirt from a distance.

Memories of Ren bubbled up in the back of Sanji’s mind. He closed his eyes as tight as possible and tried to will the memories away. Another wave jostled the ship and Sanji was glad for the hand that Zoro had on his shirt. Otherwise he was sure he would have fallen overboard. Sanji’s eyes glanced around. He didn’t realize that the water in the grand line had turned green. Their boat bobbed up and down on the green sea right next to an island made out of metal. Sanji rubbed his eyes. He must have swallowed some sea water. “Hey guys, where are we?” He looked around and his eyes landed on the metal island. “What the hell is that?” He pointed as the island bobbed up and down. Nami had her head in her hands. “We got swallowed by that whale. And the water we’re in is actually stomach acid.” “Wait so is the Merry going to be okay?” Worry laced its way through Sanji’s words. Usopp nodded from across the deck. 

“She should be fine as long as we don’t spend too much time in here.” Sanji realized that Zoro still had a hand on his shirt. As much as he wanted to remain in his grasp. Part of him knew that he had been there for too long. He tore Zoro’s hand off his shirt and turned away. “I don’t need your hand on me anymore. Jeez handsy much?” Hurt flashed across his face, but Zoro was quick to recover. “I was just trying to make sure you would be safe you dumb love cook.” Zoro huffed before he walked away. Sanji felt bad but at the same time he knew he shouldn’t have these feelings.


	3. Chapter Three

Sanji was honestly surprised they made it out of Laboon alive. He had whole-heartedly expected to be dead, but here he was alive and well. WHile they all had survived the encounter with Laboon they also had to bring Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9 to their hometown, Whiskey Peak. Apparently it wasn’t that far away. Sanji tried to make himself focus on Miss Wednesday instead of Zoro. He told himself that her long blue hair was a way nicer color than the seafoam green of a certain swordsman. He told himself that Zoro wasn’t as pretty as her. However as much as he told himself over and over again that he didn’t like Zoro, he knew in the back of his head he was lying. 

The trip to Whiskey Peak was unexpectedly short. Sanji knew that Nami knew what she was doing so he wasn’t super worried that they had ended up somewhere completely wrong. Sanji tried to spend the trip fawning over Miss Wednesday but as hard as he tried all his attempts left him with thoughts of that damn moss head.  


When they finally reached the island it was almost as if they were expected. The whole town was waiting on the docks by the canal. They threw confetti and cheered for them. Zoro came out and stood next to him. 

“What the hell is all this?” Sanji stared at the people cheering their appearance. He didn’t deserve any of the praise. He exhaled loudly. “I don’t know. Sure seems like Luffy’s enjoying himself though.” Zoro turned to see Luffy with a huge grin on his face. “Yeah well he’s always like that. Sanji stared straight ahead with a blank look on his face. “Yeah.” Sanji watched the crowd of people. There were lots of girls trying to get his attention. He caught the eye of one and she blew him a kiss. He smirked and jumped up to catch it. He felt real dumb doing that, but he still had to keep up his playboy persona. As he “caught” the kiss he brought it down and held it in his hands close to his chest. Zoro shook his head. “Fricken dumb ass love cook.” He muttered under his breath. Sanji turned towards him. “Hmm? Did you say something?” “Yeah, I said fricken dumb ass love cook.” Sanji frowned. “What's that supposed to mean?” Zoro rolled his eyes. “Ugh nevermind.” He huffed and walked away. Sanji was thoroughly confused. “What the hell?” He muttered to himself. 

When their ship reached the dock, Sanji found himself surrounded by women. As much as he didn’t want to be, he was determined to force himself to have a good time with them. He liked chicks! He was as straight as they came. He grinned at all the girls. “Hello ladies!” He put an arm around the shoulders of two girls. Behind him, Zoro rolled his eyes. The girls led their crew to a nearby tavern. 

Sanji made sure to pull out his best pick up lines. After all after cooking, flirting was one of his best skills. The girl to his right handed him a drink.  
“So what’s it like being a pirate under Straw Hat Luffy?” A girl with heavy perfume asked him. He knocked the drink back in one go. “It certainly is a wild ride with a captain like Luffy. He’s very impulsive. Although without his impulsivity I would never have met you fine ladies.” The girls blushed and he was handed another drink. This time he made sure to drink slower. He didn’t want to get blackout drunk. “Now what did you say your names were?” He paused and finished off his drink. It tasted strong. 

“My name is Akira.” The girl to his left said. 

“And my name is Mio.” The girl with the heavy perfume purred. The smell of her perfume was intoxicating in a bad way. It made Sanji’s head swim. He gritted his teeth as he felt a headache start to form. As he smiled through the pain of his newly formed headache he turned to Mio. “Would you be a dear and get me another drink please?” He really just wanted to get the stench of her god awful perfume away from him. She placed a light kiss on his cheek and walked towards the bar. Now that she was gone, Sanji felt like he could finally breathe. He took a glance around the room. On the other side of the room, Nami and Zoro were participating in a drinking contest. Usopp was off doing god knows what. Luffy was eating himself into a coma. Sanji saw that Mio returned with a whole tray of shots. She placed the tray down in front of them and smiled. “I brought us all drinks!” Relief spread its way through Sanji’s system. He grabbed one of the shots off the tray and slammed it back. He didn’t have the highest tolerance when it came to alcohol. He certainly couldn’t even come close to what Zoro could handle. After three drinks, Sanji couldn’t lie, he was a little bit buzzed. He could feel them good vibes. Sanji grabbed another shot and this time decided to sip at it while he made casual conversation with Akira and Mio. He wasn’t super interested in either of them, but they certainly made the night better. 

Before he knew it, the tray of shots was empty. Sanji visibly pouted when he realized that the alcohol was all gone. “Don’t worry ladies, I’ll get us some more drinks.” He got up and the room spun him around. “Woah, didn’t realize this bar was also a merry-go-round.” A laugh bubbled up and escaped from his mouth. Regardless of whether or not Sanji could walk straight, he was determined to get to the bar. Finally he made it to the bar. He originally just planned on getting drinks but he looked to his left and he had a perfect view of Zoor. Sanji could feel the admiration he held for Zoro well up. It overflowed inside him and he almost wanted to cry. Zoro was such an amazing person. He was an even more amazing swordsman. He was brilliant when he fought. Every move he made was carefully thought about and planned out. He almost never needed to backtrack on his moves, and he was constantly improved his sword techniques. It made Sanji want to improve on everything he needed to do in life. Everything Zoro did in he did with his all and it was admirable. 

Across the room, Zoro felt like someone was staring at him. He glanced around and tried to find the culprit. Finally his eyes locked with the culprit. Zoro’s eyes narrowed in confusion. It was Sanji. The look on Sanji’s face was one of pure, unabashed love. Zoro was taken aback by it. He’d never had anyone look at him like that before. The feeling that came with it was unlike anything Zoro had ever felt before. He felt warm from his head down to his toes. Although he couldn’t understand why Sanji looked at him like that. He knew that Sanji didn’t hate him, but for the past couple weeks he had been giving Zoro more of a cold shoulder than usual. He snapped at him more often. Zoro was incredibly confused by Sanji’s actions. He took a sip of the drink in front of him and thought about what Sanji wanted him to know. 

Sanji didn’t even realize he’d been staring at Zoro. Well, he knew he’d been thinking about him, but when Zoro made eye contact with him, all his hidden feelings came out to shine. Sanji smiled at Zoro with all the sincerity he had to offer. He tried to put everything he felt for the swordsman into his smile.  
He wasn’t sure how long he stared at Zoro, but he walked away when he realized that Akira and Mio had called his name. He stumbled back over to them. “Hey ladies! Did you miss me?” He sat down in between them. Mio wrapped her arm around him. “I thought you’d never come back.” She pouted. “Also, why didn’t you get any drinks?” Sanji smiled as thoughts of the swordsman filled his mind. “Oh I guess I got distracted.”

All the alcohol in his system had made him feel a little bit tired. He yawned. He knew that if he fell asleep, he might be plagued by memories of Ren. However he hadn’t had a decent nights sleep in almost two weeks. So sleep sounded pretty damn good. Plus there was always the chance that Ren wouldn’t show up. He let out another yawn and he snuggled into Mio. “Goodnight ladies.” He mumbled to Akira and Mio. Sanji let his head rest on Mio’s lap and she ran a hand through his hair. “Goodnight Sanji-kun.” Her silky smooth voice floated through the air and lulled him to sleep. 

It was late at night when Sanji was shaken awake. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat up. 

“Who’s there?” He said with his voice thick with sleep. It took a second for his eyes to focus on the figure in front of him but he smiled when he realized who it was. “Ren? What’re you doing here?” Sanji whispered to the boy in front of him. Ren smirked.

“I missed you of course. I had to come and say hi, because you were running through my head so much that I couldn’t sleep.” Sanji blushed. “Ren you’re too kind.” Ren moved closer to Sanji and sat on the bed. He put his hand on Sanji’s. “Wow you look so beautiful right now. I can see forever in your eyes baby.” He leaned over and placed a kiss on Sanji’s cheek. “Stop you’re making me blush.” A chuckle escaped from Ren’s lips. “But I just wanted you to know how much you mean to me. You know I’d give you the world if I could. Sanji played with his hands. “Yeah I know.” Ren smirked. “I may not be able to give you the world, but I’ll sure as hell give you all the kisses I can. Sanji giggled as Ren leaned over and placed kisses all over Sanji’s face and neck. Ren held Sanji’s hands as they locked lips. Ren smiled into every kiss they shared. When Ren’s lips locked onto his neck, Sanji frowned. Sure it felt good, but it also made him feel weird. He tried to pull away from him, but Ren’s grip on his hands tightened. “Ren please stop. I don’t like this.” Ren’s smirk disappeared. He brought his hands up over his head. Sanji grimaced. “Ren you’re hurting me.” Ren straddled Sanji’s waist and leaned down. “Shut up you brat. If you’re good, this’ll be over soon. You don’t want me to have to make this more difficult do you? Sanji shook his head. “Good. That’s what I thought.” Sanji bit his lip. He didn’t understand why Ren felt the need to do this. Ren leaned down and gave him kisses up and down his neck. Sanji squirmed, he was so uncomfortable. “Ren, please. I don’t want to do this anymore.” A hard slap on his face shocked him. It stung and tears welled up in his eyes. “I thought I told you to shut up. Do you want me to do that again?” Sanji shook his head furiously. “That's what I thought. Now I’m gonna need this off.” He tugged at Sanji’s shirt. The tears that had welled up, spilled over and made their way down his cheeks. Ren grabbed his face. “Stop crying. That’s what little babies do. Now wipe those tears off your face.” Sanji sniffled and wiped his tears away. He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the floor. He tried to keep the tears at bay while he let Ren do his worst. It honestly felt like a nightmare came to life. 

After what felt like forever, it was finally over. Ren put his clothes back on and placed a kiss on Sanji’s head. “You did so good baby. I love you Sanji.” Sanji felt numb but he forced himself to reply. He didn’t want Ren to get mad with him. “I love you too Ren.” After Ren left, Sanji curled himself into a ball. This time he didn’t try to stop the tears. They rolled down his cheeks and landed on the sheets. 

Sanji was abruptly shaken out of his memories. He saw Nami in front of him. She had an angry look on her face. “So you’ve just been sleeping this whole time?” He frowned. “What’s going on?” She rolled her eyes. “This town is full of assassin’s trying to kill Vivi. God get with it.” Sanji’s eyes narrowed in confusion. ‘Who’s Vivi?” Nami sighed. “God, you’re slow. It’s Miss Wednesday’s real name. I’ll explain it all later, but right now we gotta go. So wake Usopp up and be quick about it too. We don’t have any time to waste, so chop chop. Nami snapped her fingers and ran away towards the ship. Sanji rolled over and shook Usopp awake. He didn’t know how Usopp had ended up next to him, but that's besides the point. Usopp opened his eyes and yawned. “What’s going on?” Sanji hauled him to his feet. “We gotta go back to the ship. I don’t have time to explain so just trust me.” Usopp looked confused but he followed Sanji back to the ship regardless. 

They made it back to the ship safely. Sanji was glad to see that Zoro had made it back okay. The air that surrounded them was thick with tension. Everyone seemed on edge, especially Vivi. She stood on deck next to Nami. They were on their way out of the town when a loud boom resonated through the air. It followed a huge burst of fire and debris. When Vivi saw the explosion she burst into tears and collapsed into Nami’s arms. Sanji watched as burnt pieces of a ship landed in the water behind them. They were already on course to the next island. He wondered why Vivi was so broken up about a random ship exploding but he figured he shouldn’t ask her. Sanji lit another cigarette and watched as Whiskey Peak disappeared from his line of sight.


	4. Chapter Four

Little Garden was different then what Sanji thought it would be like. The foliage looked almost prehistoric. He leaned against the ship's railing and inhaled from his cigarette. He stared aimlessly out at the passing land. He did his best to try and forget about the dream of Ren. A shiver ran down his back as it popped up. He shook his head to get rid of the thought. As much as he wanted it cease from existence, he’d had flashbacks of that night as soon as his head hit the pillow. It shook him to his core. After Ren had left Baratie, he was positive he would never have to see him again, but Ren was invading his thoughts and dreams 24/7. Sanji put out his cigarette and stared off into space.

Their ship finally came to a stop in front of a clearing in the thick, jungle like foliage. Luffy immediately hopped off the ship to go and explore. Nami sighed. 

“I’ll go get him.” She hopped over the railing and ran after him. Sanji sighed. He could definitely use this time to stock up on food supplies for the ship. However he didn’t feel like doing anything. He rested his head in his hands and frowned. He turned around as he heard someone come up behind him. He came face to face with Zoro. He had a sheepish smile on his face. It was an unusual look for him. Sanji stared blankly at him. “What do you want moss head?” Zoro scratched the back of his head. 

“Well, I know we’re running low on supplies so I was going to offer to go with and help.” Sanji continued to stare at him before he rolled his eyes. “Alright I guess you can come with.” His voice was somewhat monotonous. “Great!” Sanji nodded. He lit a cigarette and hopped over the railing. “Let’s go.” Zoro followed suit. 

They walked through the prehistoric vegetation in silence before Zoro cleared his throat. “So, what the fuck is up with you man?” Sanji’s eyes widened and he coughed on his cigarette smoke. “What do you mean?” He asked nonchalantly. Sanji tried to avoid answering the question. Zoro rolled his eyes. “Are you good or whatever?” Sanji cleared his throat. “Yeah why wouldn’t I be?” He brushed the question off like it was dust on his shoulder. He didn’t really feel comfortable having Zoro pry into his life like this and he was beginning to feel unnerved. Zoro scoffed. “Don’t lie to me. Everyone knows something is up. Everyone is worried about you too,” Zoro paused for a second, “Including me. So don’t lie and say that you’re fine when you’re obviously not.” Sanji frowned, it wasn’t like Zoro to express concern for people like this. He lit a cigarette and pushed past Zoro. “Listen, I’m fine, so please drop it.” He walked faster. He hoped that Zoro would leave him alone. He gritted his teeth when he heard Zoro jog up in front of him to cut him off. “Look, the only reason I'm asking is because Nami asked me to. We just want to help you.” It was weird seeing Zoro care. “Zoro, I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine seriously. So please drop it.” Sanji was relieved that Zoro finally stopped prying into his business.

They walked in silence for about a minute before he cleared his throat. “Hey, so I was thinking and I think it’d be more beneficial to us if we split up. We’d be able to cover more ground and get more stuff. Sound good? Great.” Sanji waved to Zoro as he jogged off. “I’ll meet you back at the ship!” He heard Zoro yell after him.  
When Sanji couldn’t see Zoro anymore he breathed a shaky sigh of relief. All of his repressed feelings for Zoro were starting to make themselves known and Sanji wasn’t here for it. He gritted his teeth to try and keep the tears at bay. He wiped away the few that had rolled down his cheek. He was supposed to be getting food for the ship. Instead he was out in the middle of nowhere crying. Sanji let out a dry chuckle at himself. He lit a cigarette and took a long inhale. He shakily exhaled and walked towards a nearby crashing sound. 

Sanji really didn’t want to tell Zoro what was actually up. He hadn’t thought that the crew would catch on. Although looking back on it, it was evident that they would know something was up. Hell they were like his second family after Baratie. He was so close with everyone. He shook his head at himself. He inhaled and watched as the smoke curled up from his cigarette. He could hear that whatever was making the crashing sound was closer. He wasn’t sure what direction it was coming from or what it was but all he knew was that it was getting closer to him. He shrugged and made a move to continue on his way. Just as he took another step forward some sort of creature charged at him. In that moment, the world moved in slow motion. His first thought was to kill it, but then he realized that he didn’t have to. He stood still in the small clearing and accepted his fate. He closed his eyes and waited for it’s sharp teeth to tear into him, but they never did.

“You can open your eyes now.” He heard a familiar voice say out loud. His eyes flew open and he saw Zoro in front of him. Zoro raised his hand and Sanji instinctively brought his hands up above his face. Zoro’s hand made light contact with the back of his forearm. It hurt a lot less than he thought it would. “What the hell were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed!” Sanji lowered his arms. He could clearly hear the worry that was woven into each word. It shocked Sanji a little but he refused to let Zoro know what was going on. 

“Look, I had it all under control. I could have taken care of it.” He argued. Zoro huffed. “Really? Because to me it looked like you were just going to let it kill you.” The realness behind his words hit Sanji hard. He broke Zoro’s gaze and looked down at the ground. “Alright, I know you said to drop it, but what is going on with you?” Sanji could hear the change of tone in Zoro’s voice. Sanji shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t like this second confrontation. One was more than enough. “Zoro, I’m really not interested in telling you, much less anyone else. Okay?” Sanji needed to get out of here. He tried to walk past Zoro and leave this confrontation, but Zoro grabbed his arm. “I understand that you don’t want to talk about it, but I need to know you’re going to be okay. So for your sake, please tell me.” Sanji let the words Zoro just said go in one ear and out the other. He didn’t care about what he was saying, but he needed to get away from this conversation. Sanji tried his best to wrench Zoro’s hand off his arm, but Zoro was stronger than he was. “Zoro, please let me go.” He locked eyes with Zoro and saw confusion flash in his eyes, but Sanji didn’t care. He had to get out of here. “Can you please just let me go?” Sanji heard his voice crack and he felt tears well up in his eyes. It was at that point that Zoro finally let go of his arm. 

Sanji felt so relieved, but it might not be over. If being with Ren taught him anything it was that, no matter the other person’s reaction it might not be over. He backed away from Zoro and held his arm to his chest. “Please don’t hurt me.” He choked out. He dropped to his knees and he felt the tears spill down his cheeks. Zoro moved closer and wrapped him up in a hug. “I’m not going to hurt you.” He hadn’t ever had someone act like this for him. Sanji balled his fists in Zoro’s shirt and let himself sob into his chest. It felt so nice for somebody to genuinely care. Ren would never have held him like this. Zoro was so much better than Ren could ever even dream of being. 

Sanji didn’t know how long he cried, but eventually the tears stopped. Zoro unwrapped his arms from around him. “So now are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Sanji dryly chuckled. “I guess you deserve an explanation.” Sanji wasn’t super stoked to tell Zoro his life story, but it looked like he had to. That’s when Zoro held up a hand. “Lemme stop you right there. As much as I want to know, I don’t want to force it out of you. You can tell me when you’re ready to. Sound good?” Sanji felt all the uncomfortable feelings melt away. His cheeks reddened at Zoro’s soft smile. “Yeah, that sounds good.” Sanji returned his smile. “Alright, let’s head back to the ship. How does that sound?” The light red color on Sanji’s cheeks, darkened to a more crimson. Sanji turned away. “As much as I’d like to, we have to stock up on food for the ship. Seeing as how we literally have nothing.” He gestured to the empty area around them. Zoro frowned and pointed at the dead creature behind them. “There is perfectly good food right there. And besides, are you sure you don’t want to like relax or something? Cus I think that would benefit you the most.” Sanji could tell that Zoro wanted him to take it easy, but why should he relax when everyone else was going to be working their hardest. It wasn’t fair to everyone else. He shook his head. “No, I want to keep going.” He said with determination. Zoro brought his hands together in front of his face and kept them there for a second. He exhaled and pointed down with his hands. “I really think you should recuperate or something.” Sanji rolled his eyes in annoyance. He wanted to stay out here, but he knew that the swordsman wouldn’t give up. Hell, Zoro would probably drag him to the ship if he refused him again. So he just went along with it. “Okay, you know what? You can stay out here, but I’ll go back to the ship and I’ll take this thing with me,” Sanji gestured to the creature, “Okay? Does that work for you?” Sanji waited for a response from him. “I guess that’ll work okay.” Zoro crossed his arms. “However, you best make it back to the ship okay. If you don’t I’ll beat your ass.” Zoro said pointedly. Sanji let out a hesitant laugh. “Alright, I’ll be sure to make it back okay. But now I’m leaving, before you threaten me again, okay? So bye.” Sanji grabbed the creatures tail and dragged it back to the ship with him.


	5. Chapter Five

Zoro knew that something was up with the cook ever since Nami had gathered the crew together. Since then, he’d been determined to find out what was going on. Although it seemed like every chance he’d had to find out, Sanji had snapped at him to go away. There was even that one time when he kicked him in the face. So when he’d realized that Sanji was going hunting, Zoro knew he had to go with. When he asked Sanji to go with, he had fully expected him to say no, but he begrudgingly agreed. So, Zoro knew that this was the perfect chance to ask him what was up.

“So, what the fuck is up with you man?” Sanji looked taken aback, and Zoro knew he should’ve asked him differently. 

“What do you mean?” Zoro rolled his eyes. He should’ve figured that Sanji was going to avoid the question. “Are you good or whatever?” Sanji cleared his throat. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” “Don’t lie to me. Everyone in the crew knows something is up. Everyone is worried about you too. Including me. So don’t lie and say you’re fine when you’re not.” Sanji frowned. “Listen, I’m fine so can you please drop it?” Sanji pushed past him and walked faster. Zoro groaned. “Ugh, why are you being so difficult?” He whispered under his breath. Zoro caught up to Sanji. “Look, the only reason I’m asking is that Nami asked me to. We just want to help you.” Zoro tried to put all the worry he felt for the cook into his words. He wanted to try and help Sanji. He didn’t understand why Sanji was so keen on keeping it to himself. “Zoro, I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine seriously. So please drop it.” As much as Zoro didn’t want to let it be, he had to. “Fine, I’ll drop it.” He grumbled. 

They walked in silence for about a minute before Sanji spoke up. Zoro thought maybe Sanji had finally come to his senses and realized he did want help. “Hey, so I was thinking and I think it’d be more beneficial to us if we split up. We’d be able to cover more ground and get more stuff. Sound good? Great.” Zoro didn’t want to split up but seeing as how Sanji didn’t give him a chance to answer he’d just have to deal with it. “I’ll meet you back at the ship then!” He yelled as Sanji ran away. “This crazy cook,” Zoro muttered as he walked forward. In all honesty, he was worried about Sanji. While Zoro had been on watch he’d heard Sanji come up in the middle of the night. It wasn’t healthy. Zoro also didn’t understand why Sanji had had it out for him the past couple of weeks. It seemed like Sanji hated him, but then in that bar in Whiskey Peak, he gave him that look. The one that rattled him so deep to his core. The one that put a new light on the way he saw Sanji. Zoro shook his head to clear his thoughts. When he looked at his surroundings he realized he had no idea as to where he was. “Shit.” He muttered as he walked around in a circle. In the distance, he heard a crashing sound and he decided to try and find it. 

Zoro felt like he’d been walking for hours. He hadn’t found the source of the crashing and he hadn’t found Sanji or the ship. He was about to call it quits and take a nap when he heard a loud crash come from not far in front of him. He perked up and ran towards it. He wasn’t sure how he found the source but he did. With the source he also found Sanji. Zoro almost turned around and left when he saw him, but there was something off. Sanji wasn’t trying to prevent the creature from attacking him. That’s when Zoro knew he had to step in. “This stupid cook.” He tried to mask his fear for the cook as he ran towards the creature with his swords drawn. When he was positive the beast was dead he turned towards Sanji. He was just standing there with his eyes closed. 

“You can open your eyes now.” Zoro watched as a look of surprise appeared on his face. Zoro kept a stern look on his face as he raised his hand and brought it down on Sanji’s arm. Sanji flinched at the impact, harder than Zoro expected him to. “What the hell were you thinking? You could’ve gotten yourself killed.” Zoro was taken aback by the amount of worry in his voice. Was he that concerned for the cook? “Look, I had it under control. I could have taken care of it.” Zoro huffed. “Really? Because to me, it looked like you were just going to let it kill you.” Sanji broke eye contact and looked down at the ground. Zoro sighed and softened his tone. “Alright, I know you said to drop it, but what is going on with you?” Zoro could tell Sanji wasn’t interested in talking, but he just wanted to make sure he was okay. “Zoro, I’m not interested in telling you, much less anyone else. Okay?” Sanji tried to walk away but Zoro needed to make sure he’d be okay. So he grabbed his arm to prevent him from leaving. “I understand you don’t want to but I need to know you’re going to be okay. So for your sake, please tell me.” Sanji struggled against his grip. “Zoro, please. Let me go.” Zoro could tell something changed in Sanji’s eyes. He looked almost scared. Zoro watched as Sanji continued to try and get out of his grip. He didn’t think that Sanji would get this freaked out over this. “Can you please just let me go?” Zoro heard Sanji’s voice crack and he saw tears well up in the corners of his eyes. He instantly let go of Sanji’s arm. Sanji grabbed his wrist to his chest and backed away from Zoro. 

“Please don’t hurt me.” His voice sounded strangled and it hurt to hear and see him like this. A hurt expression crossed Zoro’s face. He couldn’t believe that Sanji thought he would hurt him. Sanji fell to his knees and Zoro moved closer. He didn’t know what came over him, but he felt the need to wrap the younger boy up in a hug. “I’m not going to hurt you.” Zoro never thought he would ever say that in his life. At that, Sanji balled his fists in his shirt and sobbed into his chest. Zoro had never seen Sanji like this and to be honest, it hurt. If anything seeing him like this made him want to make sure he was okay even more. Zoro didn’t know how long Sanji was going to cry for, but he was prepared to be there for him as long as he needed him to be. 

When Sanji finally stopped crying, he unwrapped his arms from around him. Zoro looked down at him. “So, are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Sanji laughed, and it sounded out of place. “I guess you deserve an explanation.” Zoro held up a hand. “Lemme stop you right there. Firstly, I was kidding. Secondly, as much as I want to know, I don’t want to force it out of you. You can tell me when you’re ready. Sound good?” A light blush dusted Sanji’s cheeks. Sanji turned away. “As much as I’d like to, we have to stock up on food for the ship. Seeing as how we have nothing.” He gestured to the empty area around them. Zoro frowned, Sanji should go back and relax or something. He pointed at the dead creature behind them. “There is perfectly good food right there. And besides, are you sure you don’t want to like to relax or something? Cus I think that would benefit you the most.” Zoro tried to negotiate with Sanji. He wasn’t the most emotional person, but he figured that after crying like that rest was the next best thing to do. Sanji shook his head. “No, I want to keep going.” Zoro could see the determination on his face. Zoro brought his hands together in front of his face and kept them there for a second. He exhaled and pointed down with his hands. “I think you should recuperate or something.” Sanji rolled his eyes in annoyance. Zoro swore that if Sanji refused to go back to the ship one more time he would drag him there himself. “Okay, you know what? You can stay out here, but I’ll go back to the ship and I’ll take this thing with me,” Sanji gestured to the creature, “Okay? Does that work for you?” Zoro bit his lip in thought. He wanted to go with the cook to make sure he would be okay, but Sanji probably wanted to be alone. He sighed. “I guess that’ll work okay.” Zoro crossed his arms. “However, you best make it back to the ship okay. If you don’t I’ll beat your ass.” Zoro said pointedly. Sanji let out a hesitant laugh. “Alright, I’ll be sure to make it back okay. But now I’m leaving before you threaten me again, okay? So bye.” Zoro watched Sanji leave until he couldn’t see him anymore. “You best be good love cook.” He yelled out to the empty woods in front of him. From wherever Sanji was he yelled back. “I’ll be fine moss head.” Zoro let a small smile break his composure before he turned to try and find more supplies. 

After Sanji left, Zoro wandered around the forest. Thoughts of whether or not the cook was okay drifted in and out of his head. While he was peeved that he hadn't found out why Sanji was acting weird, he was glad he went back to the ship. He had been prepared to drag him back to the ship if need be. Thankfully he hadn't had to do that. The one reoccurring thought in Zoro's head was about the look Sanji gave him in Whiskey Peak. It was one of the only things on his mind. He just didn't understand what the deal with it was. Did Sanji want him to see him? Was he looking at someone else and he just got in the way? "Ugh," Zoro complained out loud. The whole situation was so infuriating. Zoro shook his head. He needed to clear his head of this. It wasn't what he needed to be focusing on. He looked around at his surroundings and he realized he had no idea where he was, once again. "Fuck me," He groaned. There's no way he'd be able to make it back to the ship now. Zoro ran a hand over his face. "Okay, I'll just start walking and eventually I'll end up where I need to be. It's fine. I'm fine. Sanji's fine. Everything is fine." He huffed and walked in the direction he thought was right. 

It had been a few minutes before he had actively tried to get back to the ship and he was still just as lost. He was starting to think he'd never see any of the crew again. Then, up ahead he saw Nami leaning against a tree trunk. A smile crossed his face. 

"Nami," He called out as he approached her. That was the last thing he remembered before something struck him in the back of the head and he fell into unconsciousness.


End file.
